Mayor observes School Board Recognition Week

Le Mars Mayor Dick Kirchoff (right) presents a signed proclamation declaring May 11-17 School Board Recognition Week to Dr. Mark Stelzer, Le Mars Community Schools board of education president at the beginning of the board's Monday night meeting. [Click to enlarge]

On Monday, May 12, he signed and presented a proclamation to members of the Le Mars Community Schools board of education. This year's theme --"Helping Students Reach New Heights" -- recognizes that Iowa's volunteer school board members are local leaders working to help students succeed.

"As community leaders, we want to say thank you to you school board members for your volunteer efforts for helping our students reach new heights and achieve at high levels," Kirchoff said. He then read the following proclamation:

"WHEREAS Iowa school boards create a vision for what students should know and be able to do;

WHEREAS Iowa school boards establish clear standards for student performance;

WHEREAS Iowa school boards ensure that student assessments are tied to established standards;

WHEREAS Iowa school boards are accountable to the community for operating schools that support student achievement;

WHEREAS Iowa school boards align school district resources to ensure that students meet standards;

WHEREAS Iowa school boards create a climate that supports the philosophy that all children can learn at high levels;

WHEREAS Iowa school boards build collaborative relationships based on trust, teamwork and shared accountability; and

WHEREAS Iowa school boards are committed to continuous education and training on issues related to student achievement.

Now, Therefore, I, Dick Kirchoff, Mayor of the City of Le Mars, do hereby proclaim May 11-17, 2008, as School Board Recognition Week in Iowa and call its significance to the attention of all our citizens."

Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt then presented each LCS board member, Dr. Mark Stelzer, Leon Scott, Patrick Murphy, Marjorie Franke, Dan Smith, Cris Collins and Brenda Phelan, with a certificate of appreciation.

Volunteer school board members serve thousands of hours each year working to ensure every Iowa student receives a solid education.

More than 2,000 men and women serve on local public school boards in Iowa, guiding the education of 482,500 young people while overseeing a budget of more than $4.2 billion, according to the Iowa Association of School Boards. School board members are elected by local communities in an election held the second Tuesday of each September. They serve three-year terms.

Kirchoff also presented the proclamation to the Gehlen Catholic Schools board of education at their May 8 meeting and recognized them for their service to their school and community.

The Gehlen Catholic Schools board members include: the Rev. Kevin Richter, Rick Kneip, Tom Schuch, the Rev. James Tigges, the Rev. Dan Greving, Mark McCarty, Tom Kellen, Jim Tentinger, Jim Sitzmann Jr., Ed Begnoche, Tim Kruse, the Rev. Eugene Murray and Connie Swalve.

Members are appointed by their respective parishes, with St. James and St. Joseph in Le Mars each having two representatives compared to the outlying parishes which have only one. In addition, because of the number of families from St. Catherine's-Oyens who attend Gehlen, they have an individual and priest who serve on the board, however they are not voting members because St. Catherine's is not a part of the Gehlen Catholic corporation.

Each individual is asked to serve two terms, with each term lasting three years.